Wainscoting construction



Feb. 4, 1936. J W. W|NTERjcH 2,029,549

WAINSCOTI NNNNNNNNNNNNN N Filed June 3, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jb/IN W. WINTER/(TH M WW Feb. 4, 1936. J. w. WINTERICH WAINSCOTING CONSTRUCTION Filed June 3, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wucm tor,

WW l N Patented Feb. 4, 1936 UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE WAINSCOTING CONSTRUCTION John W. Winterich, Cleveland, Ohio Application June 3,1932, Serial No. 615,114

3 Claims.

This invention relates to wainscoting construction and has for its principal object to provide a strong and economical construction of Wainscoting which can be readily attached to the wall of wood, steel or other suitable material between the base and cap members of the wainscoting.

- Another object of the invention is to provide convenient means for gaining access to the electrical wiring and piping without the necessity of disconnecting the wainscoting from the wall.

"Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as the following description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein one embodiment is illustrated, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective fragmentary and part- 1y sectional view of a construction of wainscoting 5 and its attachment to the wall of a building;

. Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the wainscoting structure shown in Figure 1, the section being taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view through one of the hollow mullions of the wainscoting structure taken on line 33 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view through the cap member of the wainscoting structure.

a Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary vertical section of the upper portionof the base.

- Referring more particularly to the drawings I denotes the floor and 2 the wall of a room or building in which the wainscoting is installed. The wainscoting includes horizontally disposed inwardly opening substantially U-shaped base members 3'and cap members 4 having any desired finish, and made of any strong flexible material such as flexible sheet metal. Mounted in the space between the cap and base members are a plurality of decorative panels 6 of marble, wood Astill further object is to provide convenient means for inserting decorative panels of marble,

or other suitable material, preferably separated at intervals by inwardly opening substantially U-shaped mullion brackets l or the like inserted between the edges of adjoining panels G. The base and cap members are anchored to the wall by any suitable fastening means such as screws 8. In some instances it is not possible to attach the base, cap and mullion brackets directly to the face of a wall, and in this case it is necessary to provide spacing tubes 29 through which the screws extend before screwing into the adjacent wall. It will of course be understood that the cap and base members are parallel to each other and may extend either partially or entirely around the walls of a room or building, and that in the latter case, the ends of these parts will be suitably mitered.

The bottom Wall of the base member, which rests upon the floor is formed at its outer edge with an upwardly bent lip portion 9, and the upper wall of said base 3 is formed with a centrally disposed comparatively wide channel or recess I0, and is bent downwardly and thence inwardly and upwardly adjacent its marginal outer edge to form the downwardly and upwardly facing adjoining narrow recesses ii and i2 respectively. A brace l3, having an outwardly extending loop portion M intermediate. its ends is secured to the inner face of the base member and to the wall 2 by means of screws 8. The upper end of this brace is formed with an outwardly and upwardly extending angular portion which seats in the recess H and serves to support the upper wall of the base member. The loop portion [4 prevents buckling of the base trim and also subdivides the interior of the base into upper and lower chambers I5 and I6 respectively, for high and low voltage wiring.

The trim for the base 3, preferably made in two pieces to facilitate assembly and permit ready access to the interior for the purpose of repair or installation of piping and wiring, includes a body portion ill and a base board moulding portion 18. The lower edge of the latter is formed with a rearwardly extending flange l9 adapted to be inserted snugly beneath the lip 9 of base 3, suitable fastening means such as screws 2!! pass through openings in the flange l9 and secure member l8 firmly to the floor. The upper edge of moulding member or portion 18 is bent down- I wardly and thence upwardly'to form a pocket 2| in which the lower edge of the body portion of the base trim is inserted and resiliently clamped therein. The inwardly extending flange 22 on the upper edge of said body ii, if desired, can be sprung into interlocking engagement with the ing the cap and mullion bracket members.

top wall of base 3, with the downwardly extending flange 22 of said upper edge seated in recess or channel [2 previously referred to, after the lower end of the body has been seated in pocket 2|. Panels 6 are next mounted on the base members with their lower ends inserted in the comparatively wide channels 10, formed in the upper face of the top walls of the base members for this purpose. The width of the channels it! will of course vary according to the thickness of the marble or other panels to be received therein but are designed to afford a nice fit therefor, thus insuring against loosening of these parts.

When mullions l are employed, it will be understood that the panels 6 and mullions 1 will be put in place alternately, as the mullions of course extend between and separate two adjoining panels. The mullions consist of a hollow substantially U-shaped bracket member 23 preferably of flexible sheet material, and a front trim member 24 also of substantially U-shape and preferably formed of resilient sheet material. The side walls of the mullion brackets are formed with recesses 24 corresponding in width to that of the recesses 10, and adapted to snugly receive the vertical side edges of the panels. The outer edges of the side walls of brackets 23 are provided with shallow recesses in which short flanges 39, projecting inwardly from the side walls of trim member 24, seat when the latter is sprung into engagement with its supporting bracket. It will be noted that the length of the mullion brackets is slightl less than that of the mullion trim, and of course less than the distance between the base and cap members to permit of ready detachment of the base trim by merely removing the mullion trim and then lifting the base trim out of the pocket 2|. It is thus possible to gain access to the interior of the wainscoting without the necessity of detach- Assuming that panels 6 have been slid along the channel ID to the desired position, and in the desired order with respect to the mullion brackets, the latter are then secured to the wall 2 by screws 8 in, the same manner as the base member. Then the trim 24 is clamped to the respective brackets.

The cap member 4 is quite similar in construction to base member 3 except that relative parts are reversed and of course the base member is of considerably greater depth than the cap member. Thus the bottom wall of the latter is formed with a channel 21 in its lower face, similar in width to and in vertical alinement with the upward facing relatively wide channel ID in the top wall of the base member' The top and bottom faces of the walls of the cap member are also formed adjacent their outer edges with shallow recesses 28 and 29 respectively, adapted to receive corresponding flanges 30 and 3| formed respectively in the top and bottom walls of a cap trim 32, preferably formed of resilient sheet metal. After the cap member has been secured to wall 2 by screws 8, the bottom wall of the trim 32 is interlocked with. the bottom wall of the cap member, and then the top wall of the trim is slightly flexed to permit the same to be sprung into interlocked position over the top wall of the cap. While the resiliency of the cap is suflicient to hold it in place, a single screw member 33 may be employed to prevent accidental displacement.

It is to be noted that wires and pipes and other conduits can be conveniently installed within the hollow base and cap members and strung from one to the other through the hollow mullion brackets by merely providing suitable openings 30' in the top wall of the base and the bottom wall of the cap member, at points aligned with the top and bottom of the mullions. Furthermore, the hollow construction just described affords means for conveniently ventilating and heating a room, vent grills 26 and 26' being provided for this purpose. While the grid 26 is shown in the base board moulding portion of the base member 3, this grid may and preferably will be mounted in the larger panel portion 35 of the said base member. The chamber 16 formed interiorly of the base member is sufliciently large to accommodate a radiator or similar heating element.

By virtue of the fact that an unobstructed space 3! extends throughout the entire wall area back of the wainscoting construction, the latter can be eifectively heated by properly spacing heating elements, not shown and the entire wainscoting will thus serve as a heating unit.

In order to permit ready access to the'interior of the base for installing or repairing electrical wiring or for other purposes, removable panels 36 are provided at convenient intervals in the portion 35 of the base. It will be noted that the electrical conduit and ventilation openings or spaces run in vertical as well as horizontal direction, and that these spaces have intercommunication one with the other. of the horizontally disposed cap and base members communicate with each other through the hollow connecting mullion members.

Any suitable means may be employed for aligning the cap and base sections, such as keepers 40 fixed to the cap and base members adjacent the inner side edge thereof and adapted to be engaged by small rods or bolts 4| which can be readily slid therethrough.

While I have illustrated the mullions I as being Vertically disposed it will be understood that horizontally arranged members of this nature may be employed to break up the vertical lines of the construction. It should also be noted that the cap and base members and intervening panels and mullions may completely cover the wall or walls of a room from the floor to the ceiling,- or any desired portion thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A wainscoting construction comprising horizontal base and cap members, vertical, flanged mullion bracket members extending between said base and cap members, the flanges of said bracket members being yielding and longitudinallyrecessed to form U-shaped channels adapted to receive decorative panels, trim members detachably secured to the base and cap and bracket members, the trim for the mullion bracket members engaging the trim for the cap and base members with its upper and lower ends respectively, and means for securing the base, cap and bracket members to the wall of a building.

2. A wainscoting construction comprising horable trim members for said base and mullion. brackets yieldingly held in position by the resil- Thus, the interior extending angular portion interlocking with the top wall of the base member adjacent the outer edge thereof, said brace member being held in proper position by the means securing said base to the wall of a. building.

JOHN W. WINTERICH. 

